I went from a CNA to an LVN in 18 months. I then "Bridged" over in the BSN program, which took me an additional 3 years. I have 2 more semesters before my degree in chem, then I can take MCATs. The pay as a BSN is much better than the average lvn salary! BSNs in California start at $75,000 annually.

CNA jobs are in high demand due to the fact that people will always require medical patient care. Even in a bad economy with high unemployment, nursing assistants are needed due to the shortage in the job place. As with any job nursing job search, applicants must have a plan in place. Before starting your search, applicants should have their cna certification and license. In addition, applicants should have nursing work experience. Finding the right nursing assistant position is the next step. Working hard and preparing towards getting a nursing job that is a good fit will ultimately lead to success.

Here are Additional CNA Job Search Tips

Prepare a custom resume suited for the job listing. Be sure to add your skills and work experience. For skills, add things that make you stand out and are pertinent to the job. Also, instead of listing job responsibilities, try to turn them into how your work benefited your employer.

Research your potential employer. Knowing a lot about your employer not only demonstrates your interest but also that you are organized and prepared. Doing the proper homework before an interview will clearly set you apart from other candidates.

Network with people in the medical profession. Health workers know are familiar with their medical facility and can introduce you to a nursing position or at the very least refer you to human resources. Nurses have contacts with colleagues on other floors, so they may put you in touch with a hospital department that needs CNAs.

Find different sources for job listings. Good job sources include nursing publications and job websites. Some of the most popular nursing magazines include The Nurse Practitioner Magazine and Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! Magazine. Good job search websites include monster.com, indeed.com, and nursingjobs.com. If there is a job that seems like a good fit, send a customized cover letter, resume, and application if necessary. If you are unable to get an interview, try to go to an informational interview. That will help get your foot in the door.

Use your school’s career center where you received your CNA certification. The career center is a good resource during your job search and can introduce you to a listing jobs from local employers. The career counselor can also give you advice to your career and goals.

Seek out local nursing homes and hospitals. There are some instances when CNA jobs are not publicly listed. It may be necessary go to the medical facility and reach out to the manager of human resources. The hiring manager may give you an interview if there is an opening or keep your file on hand and inform you when there is a position.

Reach out to to your friends and family. They may know people who needs care or they may be able to contact people within their network for you. Even if friends and family are not in the nursing or health care field, they can often provide useful leads.

- The demand for bedside nurses will increase in relation to the aging baby boomer population. However, as more people enter the nursing labor force, competition for desirable bedside nursing jobs will be fierce, with applicants having specialty certifications and advanced degrees.

- New nurses are a motivated and ambitious bunch. People are becoming nurses with no desire to work in bedside care. Some bring business and software engineering backgrounds and have the capability to leverage such backgrounds to enter industries such as healthcare informatics etc.

- Nurse practitioners will continue to expand their practice capabilities. I expect more standardization of NP training and eventual parity with MD training. NP schools will become extremely selective, requiring high scores on standardized exams and GPA. Additionally, licensing exams for NP candidates will mirror those for physicians in their specialties. Nurse practitioners will have significant opportunity to dominate the outpatient market by opening and managing clinics. Effectively, nurse practitioners could mobilize some healthcare resources to bring care out of the hospital and to the patients.

- As the government continues programs such as HCAPHS surveys, which are subjective measures by patients that influence hospital reimbursement, nurses will have the significant impact on the infrastructure of hospitals etc. Nurses will be charged with optimizing patient workflow, discharge, and compliance.

- The unique knowledge and skill set possessed by nurses will expand their place as policymakers. Additionally, as more nurses gain doctoral training, they will have opportunities to function as experts.

Negatives

- Fiscal and personnel limitations on nursing schools will prevent many qualified candidates from entering school.

- Those individuals who enter the workforce for jobs not related to bedside care will face work dissatisfaction due to possible bottlenecks in administrative jobs or decreased salary due to the significant amount of graduate prepared nurses.

- Established and experienced nurses will suffer due to increased minimum requirements for jobs. Those nurses who entered the workforce before certifications and minimum education requirements will no longer be competitive based on experience alone, possibly depriving patients of qualified caregivers.

- The amount of time new nurses are staying in bedside care (the area with the highest projected growth) is declining. This could create a revolving door of staff nurses who never reach expert level competence or 10000 hours of clinical practice.

- Hospitals may continue to transition to a heavy pool or per diem nursing staff to save money spent on benefits. Non-permanent positions may decrease staff nurse investment in their jobs and increase voluntary departure from the field.